Colombia sends 6 tons of humanitarian aid to Türkiye

By Sinan Dogan

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) – Colombia has sent six tons of humanitarian aid to Türkiye for quake victims, the Turkish ambassador in Bogota said on Wednesday.

Beste Pehlivan Sun told Anadolu that aid materials consisted of a large number of blankets, winter clothes, and hygiene materials.

“Our Colombian friends, our citizens living here, and our business people have taken action to heal the wounds. As a result of a very intense aid campaign at our embassy and Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, we are sending the aid to our country with the contribution of Turkish Airlines,” Sun said.

Underlining that Colombians flocked to the Turkish Embassy with parcels in their hands, she said: "Anadolu has a great share in making the aid mobilization so intense. The agency played a major role in reflecting and announcing it to the public. We express our gratitude to the magnanimity of the Colombian people.”

On Tuesday, Colombia sent a team of 20 experts to Türkiye to support the disaster victims.

At least 35,418 people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors last week were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck nine other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

In neighboring Syria, at least 3,688 people were killed and over 14,749 injured.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar